In Midnights, In Cups of Coffee
by SereneCalamity
Summary: The lot of them were all struggling to get through their first year at university, and they were helping each other. Some of them were helping each other more than others. Elmax. Oneshot.


**I think the Elmax ship is just so cute. I hope you guys enjoy it.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the title, which comes from _Season of Love_ from _Rent_. **

There had been absolutely no question about all of them going to college in the same city.

With everything that they had all been through together, there was no way they were letting something as stupid as growing up stop them from being together.

And it wasn't as though all of them were going to college anyway, Will Byers and Jane Hopper—Eleven—both chose not sign up in the first year, Will because he wanted to work for a while to get some money behind him, and El because she _hated_ school, _hated_ being trapped in a room, and even after only going formally for her last years of high school, she wasn't about to sign up for _more_ classes.

Mike Wheeler was studying Aeronautics and Aviation Technology, Dustin Henderson was studying in Computer Engineering, Lucas Sinclair was studying Business and Maxine Mayfield was studying Nursing.

All degrees were demanding and it was such a shift from their time in Hawkins where passing had been easy for all of them, and it required a lot of patience and understanding from each other.

Will worked long shifts at a coffee house and El was working full time with an electrical company, who had told her that in a couple of months time they could give her an apprenticeship, which would work toward a qualification with Jim Hopper was very proud of, and so a lot of their time was tied up as well.

But they were still there for each other.

Will and Mike finally got together, after the years of dancing around it.

El and Mike had never really _properly_ gotten together—there had been some kisses and definitely some attraction, but things had just never really progressed, and then Max had decided to barge in announce that she though El's curls were cute and she kind of wanted to kiss her, and Mike had been more than willing to back off and let the girls see where things went.

And now Will and Mike were together, and El and Max were together, and the four of them were all in a tiny cramped apartment which had seemed like a really good idea to begin with, until they realized that the walls were paper thin, and Mike had a tendency to leave dirty cups everywhere and Max left her bras on the floor of the bathroom every time she showered.

It took them a while, but they worked things out.

Dustin and Lucas were staying in the dorms together, right next to the college, which came in handy when Mike or Max were up late studying and just wanted somewhere to crash for the night before going back to the library early the next morning.

They were coming to the end of their first year, and Mike and Max were both stressed about exams.

Will and El were trying to keep things smooth, but late nights and running on nothing but coffee and pure determination to pass was wearing nerves thin.

"You been home long?" Will asked as he took off the cardigan he was wearing, which El was pretty sure was actually one of hers.

"Just got back ten minutes ago, we ended up on a late call out," El replied.

"The silence isn't exactly comforting," Will looked toward the two bedroom doors on the far side of the combined lounge and kitchen.

"It's _late_ ," El reminded him with a quirk of her pink lips. "They could be _asleep_."

Will looked as though that idea hadn't even occurred to him, and he shrugged.

"Maybe," he conceded. "At least they did the dishes," he pointed out.

"Even left us dinner," El grinned and nodded at the small fridge. "Must have been Mike's night, because was actually edible. Yours is still in there."

She absolutely adored her girlfriend, but the girl couldn't cook for shit, and on the nights that it was her turn for cooking, they usually ended up with pasta that was so sloppy that it was just a pile of sludge, or eggs that were half burned to the bottom of the pan, and it resort to them ordering in pizza.

Mike was actually a pretty good cook, not as good as Will, but still close.

"I'm going to check on Max," El said as she slid off the bench where she had been finishing off whatever it was in the bowl that Mike had cooked them for dinner.

She gave a little wave at Will, making to leave the room and then seeming to remember something and coming back to pick up the cardigan that Will had put down on the back of their ratty couch.

Will gave her an almost apologetic smile, but given how often he stole her scrunchies and cardigans and hair pins, El knew that it would just happen again.

And she didn't mind.

She carried her cardigan into the room that she shared with Max, opening the door carefully.

Max wasn't asleep, although she was definitely well on her way there.

The redhead was slumped over the tiny, chipped wooden desk in the corner of their room, pressed up against the wall, her laptop open and on a bright setting, obviously to try and keep her wide awake, and there were not one, not two, but three cups on the bookshelf beside the desk at the shelf that was at shoulder height, undoubtedly now empty of coffee.

"Max?" El's voice was quiet, so as not to give Max a fright.

"Mmyeah?" Max's voice came out sluggish and El couldn't help but smile fondly as the other girl turned half around.

She hadn't come in here when she had first come home because it was almost midnight, and both Max and Mike had classes tomorrow morning, so she had thought that they must have been asleep, even though they had been up at crazy hours for the past few weeks.

But there was no loud music going and they weren't yelling at each other through the wall, which was unlike them, so she had been assumed they were asleep—and she had been glad with that assumption.

Both of them needed to get more sleep.

They were running on fumes.

"What time is it?" Max asked, rubbing her hands over her eyes and then looking back at her laptop, squinting down at the time in the bottom corner. "Shit," she breathed out. "I was meant to go to bed at eleven, coz I was gonna get up to catch the six o'clock bus into school."

"Well, _that's_ not happening now," El pointed out. "You need to sleep."

Max groaned, as though her whole body wasn't practically slumping forward and curling in on itself, _begging_ to crawl out of the chair and into their bed.

" _Nooooo_ ," Max whined. "If I'm not gonna go early in the morning, then I need to stay up later now."

"Nope," El shook her head firmly, coming over to rest her hands on Max's shoulders and giving them a squeeze. "There's been too many midnights, and too many coffee's to be healthy."

"Mike's the same!" Max protested.

"Mike's not my girlfriend," El grinned as she leaned down, nuzzling her nose against the side of Max's face.

Despite how tired Max was, she let out a huff of laughter as El's curls brushed against the side of her face.

"I would hope not, he'd look terrible in pink," she retorted.

" _You_ don't wear pink," El pointed out softly, still rubbing her nose against Max's cheek before nipping lightly at her ear.

"Of course I don't," Max wrinkled her nose. "No matter what mum says."

El let out a laugh.

"So?" El prompted. "Bed time?"

Max didn't look happy about it, but when El tugged off her jersey and then pulled off her singlet, standing in front of Max in just her pale blue bra and her leggings, her expression shifted a little.

" _Fine_ ," Max agreed. "Bed time."

El smiled, leaning forward and giving Max a firm kiss on the mouth.

They helped each other undress, although there was nothing sexual about it, just comfortable familiarity, before climbing into bed together.

Max was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow and El smiled as she curled up behind her, burying her face in her girlfriends hair, letting her eyes close.

 **Let me know what you think x**


End file.
